[FX6]≡ Libro Dance of the Winnebagos Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Ann Charles CS Kunkle Mona Weiss 9780983256854 Books

Dance of the Winnebagos Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Ann Charles CS Kunkle Mona Weiss 9780983256854 Books

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Dance of the Winnebagos Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Ann Charles CS Kunkle Mona Weiss 9780983256854 Books

I'll tell you why later. First, let's see what I liked.

Charles does a bang-up job on most of what makes an enjoyable read for me. The descriptions of scenery are wonderful, making me feel like I'm sweating under the hot Arizona sun. The mystery is delicious; revealed tasty morsel by morsel, allowing me to make up all sorts of theories as to what and where and why. Yes, the villain is clearly visible early on, but there is so much more to the mystery than whodunit. The main characters (I'd say two main characters, a villain, two supporting characters, and 4 others, plus, of course, Henry, the dog) are fleshed out and I felt I knew them pretty well by the time the story was rolling along. The danger felt real -- one reviewer called it "pulse-pounding suspense." I concur.

Add to that the fact that I saw no editing/proofreading errors and I should have been one happy camper. So why wasn't I?

Sex. First of all, let me start out by saying that I am not adverse to sex, even to depictions of sex in literature. I've written a few sex scenes myself, actually having once been paid for a short erotica piece I wrote. But that was for an erotica market, not for a mainstream mystery market. And yes, I knew going in that this novel was described as mystery/romance. I read a lot of mystery and many times it is described as belonging to that split genre. And sometimes, I don't read more books in the series simply because of the explicit sex scenes -- although some writers get it right -- them I read not in spite of the explicit sex, but because it fits in the novel's storyine and the story would be less without those depictions. That's not what I felt in this book.

In this novel, the sex seemed obligatory, as though the author felt a need to spice up her story. Maybe she didn't have faith in her storyline. Too bad, the storyline didn't need the sex at all. Some of it was fine. Charles did a great job of depicting the physical attraction and sexual tension between the two main characters. Hell, I wanted them to get together. I just didn't need this:

***
"And I really want to feel you deep inside of me."

He obliged in one swift shove. "Like this?"

"Yes." (and, my note here --shouldn't that be an exclamation point rather than a period?) Her ankles tightened (again my note: Really? Her ankles?)

He moved in and out again. "And this?"
****

Okay, you get the idea. Ms. Charles. I've had sex. I know how it works. I know how enjoyable it certainly can be. But believe me, my imagination could build a steamy scene sexier than anything you wrote. Even in some of the earlier scenes depicting the strong sexual tension were a bit tedious. For example, in this scene where Claire is wearing a shirt with a picture of Porky Pig on the front (even that is a Really?):

***
He palmed Porky the Pig's rounded cheeks, the soft weight of her filling his palms.
****

Sheesh. That wasn't funny. It wasn't cute. And, unfortunately, it wasn't the only time Charles used the image on the shirt to describe a bit of petting.

Also, I felt Charles was guilty of some serious age profiling. Yes, her quartet of "old" men were intended, for the most part, as comic relief. Only one had his age given -- a ripe OLD 69. 69. Really? That's old? On what planet are you living Ann Charles? Certainly the aches and pains the attributes to this foursome would today be more indicative of ages in the mid 70s and upward. Plus she draws them all as sex-addicted dirty old men, even Claire's grandfather (who is one of the main supporting characters). The women they consort with are true caractures of women who have reached AARP card carrying age. While she certainly intimates that these characters are having sex, she does so in the meanest, lowest way. In fact, the only two "old" characters who are given any kind of normal sex life are the second of the main supporting characters (and note that she is listed as being 55, just on the cusp of old, doncha know) and the villain.

So, evidently older folk like me, aged 66, don't have sex anymore and if we do it is a) to be made fun of, or b) not interesting enough to be written about with any passion. In fact, as a female, I'm obviously too old, in Charles' opinion, to be having sex, as the only older women given any type of sex life in the book are a decade younger than me. I'll be sure to tell my friends that we need to stop it and stop it right now!

And, hickeys. Yes, hickeys. Do 30-something people really give each other hickeys? Does anyone over the age of 16 really do that anymore. Again, sheesh.

So, this could have been a great summer read and I won't say it wasn't fun. Believe me, I can skip over the stupidly written sex scenes pretty easily. But I really did resent the portrayal of anyone past the age of 50 as "old" and I really resented the initmation that sex between older individuals is a joke. Unfortunately for me, I already have the second book in this series in my Kindle, along with the first book in the Deadwood series. So, I'll probably read them. But I won't be getting more. Too bad, because the mystery part of the novel was superbly written. This could have been a series I would follow for years to come. Could have been.


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Dance of the Winnebagos Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Ann Charles CS Kunkle Mona Weiss 9780983256854 Books Reviews

I don't write reviews very often but felt the need to add my two cents about this book. I loved Claire, she was an intelligent, feisty, and good humored (she had to be to put up with those dirty old men -) main character. I will say this book might not be for everyone. The grandpa and his cronies are very crude, but they are harmless. This story takes place in a little hole in the wall "town" in Arizona. I grew up in a small town and let me tell you-life is a little different in a small town and I found these characters very true to life-a little rude and crude but deep down they were good people. So if you can't deal with a group of dirty old men talking a lot of innuendo and stupid male humor then this book isn't for you. BUT HOPEFULLY that does not deter you because this story is really worth reading! It's just a good story that has all the elements- there is mystery and intrigue, a budding romance filled with sexual tension-but that's just part of the story, and the characters are true to life and funny. It was refreshing that it wasn't the same worn out story line that I have been reading. It wasn't some damsel in distress book and the hunky hero who saves the day. Claire could fend for herself quite well and Mac was not a cop or other kind of "protector", he was -I think the term was geotechnician- or something like that. You'll have to read the book if you don't know what that is -)
One of the reviews I read before reading this book that talked about Claire and her character t-shirts and how they felt it was childish. I didn't feel that way at all, that's part of Claire's charm.The interaction between Ruby and her teenage daughter-ah that brings back memories of my youth! Even the card playing brings back memories of playing cards with my family-all older than me by a few decades- and the banter that went with it- I remember my great grandpa would get mad and start hollering you gosh darn (not the actual words used) sandbagger! To me that wasn't really a distraction from the story line, it helped bring the characters and the town to life. Also knowing that this is the first book in a series makes it that much more important to really set the scene for future books. All of the characters were thought through in great detail and the writing style and dialogue made for an easy read. Sometimes I get caught up in other writers who feel the need to see how many adjectives they can use in a sentence and then I have to re-read a paragraph just to remember where I was before the words side-tracked me from the story. I really liked all of these characters. I just finished this book and have already downloaded books number 2 and 3 in the Jackrabbit Junction series. I'm really looking forward to number 3-just based on the title it sounds hilarious, but I have to read number 2 first-I think I will be up late tonight reading!
Once again I am mystified by all the glowing, five star reviews for this book. I finished it, but it was a tough slog.

The book takes place in a desert community/RV park in Arizona and revolves around a lost treasure and some abandoned mines. It has a cast of supporting characters who are supposed to be quirky and lovable. They were, the first time we encounter them. Unfortunately, they really don't have much to do with the plot and don't develop at all. After a couple of appearances, they are really boring. This is especially true of the group of old men who hang out with the heroine's grandfather. They are preoccupied with sex and their dialogue is crude, not funny. After reading their dialogue, which is cringe-inducing, I felt like I had been watching those ads on TV for pills to cure erectile disfunction.

The heroine spends her time getting drunk, wishing for a cigarette, feeling sorry for herself because she hasn't had sex in awhile, sleeping in t-shirts with cartoon characters in the front of them, and answering the door in in those t-shirts without putting on her bathrobe. The hero spends a lot of time lusting after the heroine and thinking about her breasts under the cartoon character t-shirts. Yup, the characters have a healthy interest in each other, but unfortunately, the author doesn't write about it very well, and it certainly doesn't add to the plot. I had the feeling that she felt she should throw sex in every once in awhile just to string us along.

The missing treasure thread is really quite interesting and this book could be a whole lot better than it is. My advice to the author is to scrap the current edition and re-write the whole thing from scratch.
I'll tell you why later. First, let's see what I liked.

Charles does a bang-up job on most of what makes an enjoyable read for me. The descriptions of scenery are wonderful, making me feel like I'm sweating under the hot Arizona sun. The mystery is delicious; revealed tasty morsel by morsel, allowing me to make up all sorts of theories as to what and where and why. Yes, the villain is clearly visible early on, but there is so much more to the mystery than whodunit. The main characters (I'd say two main characters, a villain, two supporting characters, and 4 others, plus, of course, Henry, the dog) are fleshed out and I felt I knew them pretty well by the time the story was rolling along. The danger felt real -- one reviewer called it "pulse-pounding suspense." I concur.

Add to that the fact that I saw no editing/proofreading errors and I should have been one happy camper. So why wasn't I?

Sex. First of all, let me start out by saying that I am not adverse to sex, even to depictions of sex in literature. I've written a few sex scenes myself, actually having once been paid for a short erotica piece I wrote. But that was for an erotica market, not for a mainstream mystery market. And yes, I knew going in that this novel was described as mystery/romance. I read a lot of mystery and many times it is described as belonging to that split genre. And sometimes, I don't read more books in the series simply because of the explicit sex scenes -- although some writers get it right -- them I read not in spite of the explicit sex, but because it fits in the novel's storyine and the story would be less without those depictions. That's not what I felt in this book.

In this novel, the sex seemed obligatory, as though the author felt a need to spice up her story. Maybe she didn't have faith in her storyline. Too bad, the storyline didn't need the sex at all. Some of it was fine. Charles did a great job of depicting the physical attraction and sexual tension between the two main characters. Hell, I wanted them to get together. I just didn't need this

***
"And I really want to feel you deep inside of me."

He obliged in one swift shove. "Like this?"

"Yes." (and, my note here --shouldn't that be an exclamation point rather than a period?) Her ankles tightened (again my note Really? Her ankles?)

He moved in and out again. "And this?"
****

Okay, you get the idea. Ms. Charles. I've had sex. I know how it works. I know how enjoyable it certainly can be. But believe me, my imagination could build a steamy scene sexier than anything you wrote. Even in some of the earlier scenes depicting the strong sexual tension were a bit tedious. For example, in this scene where Claire is wearing a shirt with a picture of Porky Pig on the front (even that is a Really?)

***
He palmed Porky the Pig's rounded cheeks, the soft weight of her filling his palms.
****

Sheesh. That wasn't funny. It wasn't cute. And, unfortunately, it wasn't the only time Charles used the image on the shirt to describe a bit of petting.

Also, I felt Charles was guilty of some serious age profiling. Yes, her quartet of "old" men were intended, for the most part, as comic relief. Only one had his age given -- a ripe OLD 69. 69. Really? That's old? On what planet are you living Ann Charles? Certainly the aches and pains the attributes to this foursome would today be more indicative of ages in the mid 70s and upward. Plus she draws them all as sex-addicted dirty old men, even Claire's grandfather (who is one of the main supporting characters). The women they consort with are true caractures of women who have reached AARP card carrying age. While she certainly intimates that these characters are having sex, she does so in the meanest, lowest way. In fact, the only two "old" characters who are given any kind of normal sex life are the second of the main supporting characters (and note that she is listed as being 55, just on the cusp of old, doncha know) and the villain.

So, evidently older folk like me, aged 66, don't have sex anymore and if we do it is a) to be made fun of, or b) not interesting enough to be written about with any passion. In fact, as a female, I'm obviously too old, in Charles' opinion, to be having sex, as the only older women given any type of sex life in the book are a decade younger than me. I'll be sure to tell my friends that we need to stop it and stop it right now!

And, hickeys. Yes, hickeys. Do 30-something people really give each other hickeys? Does anyone over the age of 16 really do that anymore. Again, sheesh.

So, this could have been a great summer read and I won't say it wasn't fun. Believe me, I can skip over the stupidly written sex scenes pretty easily. But I really did resent the portrayal of anyone past the age of 50 as "old" and I really resented the initmation that sex between older individuals is a joke. Unfortunately for me, I already have the second book in this series in my , along with the first book in the Deadwood series. So, I'll probably read them. But I won't be getting more. Too bad, because the mystery part of the novel was superbly written. This could have been a series I would follow for years to come. Could have been.